POLL: Most British Men and Women Say Feminism Gone Far Enough or Too Far

Jack Taylor/Getty8 Mar 2018

A considerable majority of both British women and men believe feminism has gone as far as it should go or even too far, and fewer than one in three defines themselves as a feminist, a poll has found.

A total of 67 per cent of respondents thought the advance of feminism has either gone too far (40 per cent) or gone as far as it should go (27 per cent), according to the survey by Sky Data released on Internation Women’s Day.

Both sexes shared this opinion fairly evenly, with 61 per cent of females saying that the ideology has gone as far as it should go (26 per cent) or even too far (35 per cent).

In stark contrast, only one in three Brits (33 per cent) believes the march of feminism has not gone far enough, and just one in ten says it has not gone nearly far enough.

Yet, the ‘feminist’ label is affecting how British people interact socially.

Some 15 per cent of women would be less likely to date a man who called himself a feminist than those (12 per cent) who would be more likely to date a feminist man.

An even larger proportion of men found the feminist label unattractive in a prospective partner, with a fifth (20 per cent) saying they would be less likely to want to start a relationship with a feminist, but just two per cent are more likely to do so.

Yet, men are reacting to feminism’s popularity and power, with a quarter (25 per cent) saying they have changed their behaviour to avoid being labelled sexist and about the same number (26 per cent) admitting their attitude has changed.

Despite their general misgivings about the feminist movement, however, the public has largely accepted the claims of feminist ideology – that women are discriminated against in society.

The poll found that around 70 per cent of Brits believe men are paid more than women for the same work, but just 1 per cent say women are paid more.

A strong majority, (65 per cent) were under the impression bosses favoured men over equally qualified women. Just 5 per cent said women are favoured over men.

It is illegal to pay men more than women in the UK, and critics of the ‘gender pay gap’ claim point out that women choose different jobs that pay less. Furthermore, young women and women in comparable part-time jobs are paid more than men, studies have shown.